Chapter 51 Broken Announcement
Chapter 51 Broken Announcement
Alexander
I couldn’t move.
For a full minute, I just sat there staring at Victoria like she had somehow sprouted horns and wings right in front of me. The words “We’re engaged” were still hovering around in the air like a toxic fog.
My mother, on her part, looked like it was Christmas morning. Her hands were clasped together, and her eyes were shining with joy that I hadn’t seen in years.
She was pleased.
Damnit!
“Oh, Alexander,” mother breathed. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. I’ve been waiting for this day for so long!”
I forced a tight smile that hardly even curved my lips.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “A real surprise.” I eyed Victoria.
Victoria turned that dazzling smile on my mother.
“We wanted it to be special,” she said sweetly. “And tonight felt perfect,” she said in that pretentious sweet voice of hers. She was making me run insane.
“Perfect,” my mother said, she was still beaming at her like she had just found her long-lost daughter. “I knew you two would find your way back to each other. I always said no one understood Alexander better than you, my dear,” Mother said, and that made Victoria let out a soft laugh. She then placed her hand on mine.
“I try my best,” she replied.
My jaw clenched, but I didn’t pull away. Victoria was playing a game, and I felt like bringing down all the stupid schemes she had built, but I was wise enough to know that I could not do that here. Not in front of my mother, who looked like her world had just been restored.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter-in-law,” she went on to say dreamily. “You make him happy, Victoria. I can tell.”
I inwardly rolled my eyes.
If only she knew.
Victoria smiled, and then she lowered her eyes in a mock show of humility.
“That means the world to me, Mrs. Harrington,” she said softly.
I kept my expression neutral, but I was furious inside.
When dinner finally ended and my mother excused herself to take a call, I stood up abruptly.
“Victoria. A word,” I said, forcing my voice to be calm.
Her smile didn’t falter.
“Of course, darling,” she said and followed me.
I led her through the hallway and down to one of the smaller sitting rooms that was near the library.
Immediately after I clicked the door shut behind us, I turned and stepped close enough to corner her against the wall.
My palms were pressed flat against the wall beside her shoulders, caging her in.
Her eyes flicked up to mine, and I saw a spark of mischief in them.
“You know,” she murmured, “you can't have sex with me in your mother's house. That's totally disrespectful to—”
“Don’t,” I cut in sharply. “Cut the crap, Victoria.”
Her eyes scanned mine, and she saw that I was serious, then her lips curved into a smirk.
“Always so serious, Alexander,” she muttered.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded in a low voice.
She still had her smile on.
“Well, it's what I should have done months ago,” she said simply. “Fixing things. For you. For us. And for your mother, who clearly adores me. She loves the idea of us getting married, you know.”
I laughed without humor.
“Fixing things? By announcing an engagement I didn’t agree to?”
She shrugged, unbothered.
“You didn’t disagree either. You just sat there,” she said. “Besides, we've talked about this before, don't act like I'm just springing it up to you now." She added.
I leaned closer.
“You blindsided me, Victoria. You don’t make that kind of announcement without—”
“Without what?” she interrupted smoothly. “Your permission?”
My nostrils flared.
“Exactly.” I gripped.
She chuckled under her breath and then looked up through her lashes.
“Alexander, you’ve always had control over everything, your company, your employees, even your emotions. Maybe it’s time someone took the reins for once,” she said.
I gritted my teeth.
“You’re out of your mind.” I quipped.
“Maybe,” she said, smiling faintly. “But I’m right. Look at your mother, she’s glowing. She’s been waiting for this moment. And for once, you’ve made her proud.”
I stepped back slightly, shaking my head.
“You’re acting out of greed, Victoria. I know you don’t give a damn about my mother. This is about you.” I told her.
“Greed?” She snorted stylishly. “No, Alexander. This is called strategy. Something you used to be good at before that little surrogate of yours turned your brain into mush.”
My jaw tightened instantly.
“Don’t bring her into this,” I growled.
“Oh, I think I will,” she said in a voice that sounded soft but no less harsh. “She’s a problem. You know it. Everyone does. Get rid of her, pay her off or whatever, and focus on what actually matters,” she declared.
I took a step toward her again. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, but I do,” she purred. “That woman is nothing but a liability, Alexander. You can’t afford distractions right now, especially not ones carrying your child.”
I didn’t move, just clenched my fists.
“You’re overstepping,” I said through gritted teeth.
She leaned in close enough for her perfume to sting my senses.
“No, darling,” she whispered. “I’m just cleaning up your mess before it destroys you.”
And with that, she pushed past me, brushing her shoulder deliberately against mine, and left the room.
For a long moment, I stood there in silence, breathing hard. I wanted to follow her, probably to demand an explanation, threaten her, or something, but what would be the point? She had already spun her web. And my mother was now blinded by her joy.
By the time I joined them again in the living room, Victoria was sitting gracefully on the couch beside an old family album, flipping through it as if she belonged there. My mother sat close, smiling fondly.
“Come, Alexander,” she said warmly. “We were just looking through some old photos.”
I forced a breath and sat beside them, keeping a careful distance.
Victoria laughed softly as she turned a page.
“Look at this one,” she said, pointing to a photo of me as a boy covered in paint, grinning beside a half-built wooden contraption. “Always the little inventor.”
My mother chuckled.
“He used to disappear for hours into that workshop of his,” she said, and I rolled my eyes.
“Of course he did,” Victoria said lightly. “He was born to build… to create.”
Her voice softened in a way that made my mother sigh dreamily again. I just sat there, staring at the photograph but seeing something else entirely.
Elena’s pale face in the snow.
My mother stood after a few minutes, smiling.
“I’ll bring us some wine,” she offered. “We should toast to your engagement,” she added.
Before I could object, she disappeared into the kitchen while Victoria kept flipping through the album.
“Enjoying yourself?” I muttered.
“Immensely,” she replied without looking up.
When my mother returned, she carried a tray with a bottle of vintage wine and two glasses.
“For the couple,” she said brightly.
Victoria still had her smile on, but I watched her raise a hand politely.
“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Harrington, but I’ll pass,” she said softly.
My mother looked surprised and glanced at me.
“No wine? Since when?” she asked.
Victoria smiled sweetly, resting a hand lightly over her stomach.
“It’s not good for the baby,” she declared..
The room froze.
My glass halted halfway to my lips, and for the first time that night, I actually choked. The wine burned down my throat as I coughed with my eyes snapping to her in utmost disbelief.
My mother let out a wide-eyed gasp.
“Baby? Victoria… are you saying you're pregnant?” she asked, mirroring my thoughts.
Victoria turned her gaze to me, and then she let out a slow and victorious smile.
“Yes,” she said softly. “We’re expecting. That’s why we’re making everything official so soon,” she declared.
The hell?!
I could literally hear the sound of my own heartbeat roaring in my ears while I prayed to whoever the fuck answered prayers that this was just another one of her devious schemes and she wasn't actually pregnant!